Vocabulary:
Layers of the Earth
Vocabulary Word
1.
Inner core
Definition
-Ball of hot, solid metal at Earth’s center
-Very high pressure causes it to be solid
2.
Outer core
-Layer of liquid metal surrounding the inner core
-Less pressure and lower temperature than inner core
3.
Mantle
-Thickest layer of Earth made up of hot rock; less dense than
core
-Uppermost part of mantle is cool and rigid.
Just below that, the
rock is hot and soft enough to move like a thick paste.
4.
Crust


Continental crust
Oceanic crust
-Thin layer of cool rock that surrounds Earth like an eggshell; 2
types


Continental crust includes all continents (less dense; mostly
composed of granite)
Oceanic includes all the ocean floors(more dense; mostly
composed of basalt)
5.
Lithosphere
-Made up of the crust and the cool, rigid part of the upper mantle.
-It is broken into tectonic plates and sits on top of the
asthenosphere
6.
Asthenosphere
-Layer of hotter, softer rock in Earth’s upper mantle; flows like tar
-Lithosphere (tectonic plates) sits on the asthenosphere
7.
Relative position
-The location of something in comparison to its surroundings
8.
Composition
-The makeup of a substance; the composition of carbon dioxide
(CO2) is one carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms
9.
Density
-The amount of “stuff” present
space (volume);
(mass) in a certain amount of
Density = Mass/Volume
10.
Convection currents
-Convection = heat transfer by the movement of fluids
-Hot, soft rock in the asthenosphere and the lower mantle move by
convection.
-Hotter, less dense rock rises. Cooler, denser rock sinks back
down, only to be heated and rise again